Beijing’s outreach to American students is accelerating, according to an advocacy report and cited Chinese sources. Defending Education says a Chinese government scholarship and coordinated exchanges are drawing U.S. students to China—with American institutions helping promote the effort.
What’s new, according to the cited sources
Defending Education points to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s November 2023 pledge to bring 50,000 Americans to China and the launch of a Young Envoys Scholarship (YES) to support that goal. The group describes the program as covering expenses for American students to travel to and study at Chinese universities, including guided visits to government entities and campuses. In the initiative’s first year, 14,000 Americans traveled to China, according to China’s ambassador (as cited by Defending Education).
The advocacy report also cites a June 2024 letter from Xi to the president of Kean University calling on universities in both countries to “cultivate young envoys who know both countries well,” and notes a same-day Xinhua dispatch echoing that theme.
Who in the U.S. is promoting YES, per the report
Defending Education says it identified 83 universities and 26 K–12 schools operating YES programs. The report also highlights a vice president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities promoting the program at a 2024 event in China, and says the Institute of International Education co-hosted a 2024 webinar about YES. According to the advocacy group, U.S. administration officials attended the program’s Washington, D.C., launch in January 2024.
Examples the report and cited media describe
Defending Education cites a 2024 trip by Muscatine High School (Iowa) students, fully funded by the Chinese government, that ended with students gifting Xi a flag reading, “Grandpa Xi, Here We Are.” The group also references a Carleton College student praising Beijing Normal University (BNU). For context, the New York Times has reported on a “malicious tip-off culture” at BNU in which students report professors who diverge from Chinese Communist Party narratives, including a case where a professor was fired for criticizing Mao and praising Western civilization (as characterized by Defending Education).
How Chinese documents reportedly frame the goal
The report links the exchanges to Beijing’s “Community of Common Destiny,” described in 2018 by China’s top diplomat as “the overall goal of China’s foreign affairs work in the new era” (as characterized in the article). It further cites a 2023 Chinese white paper that rejects “so-called universal values” in favor of “the common values of humanity embedded in Chinese civilization,” and references a 2013 internal Party directive instructing officials to suppress constitutional democracy, universal values, and civil society inside China. Defending Education argues that these texts illuminate the intended ideological framing of the exchanges.
Context and prior scrutiny
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party released an investigative report on CCP influence in American higher education this month, according to the article. The commentary also notes that while many Confucius Institutes have been disbanded in the U.S., Beijing continues to pursue educational influence through other channels.
What the advocacy group wants next
Defending Education urges the current administration to apply the same scrutiny to American students traveling to China with Chinese government funding as it does to Chinese students in the U.S. It calls on Congress to investigate the YES program’s funding, partnerships, and whether participating schools have met federal foreign gift reporting requirements. The group also encourages state-level reviews and potential funding limits. Framing the stakes for campus leaders, the author asks whether institutions agree with what he characterizes as the program’s political purpose.
Open questions
Several details in the advocacy report rely on third-party sources and official Chinese statements that warrant independent verification, including the scope of institutional participation, the 14,000-student figure, the specific terms of the YES scholarship, and which U.S. officials attended the Washington launch.
